Packet transmission system, packet transmission apparatus, and packet transmission method

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a packet transmission apparatus and so on that can suppress transmission delays caused by packet integrations and that can perform the transmissions over a broad band. The packet transmission apparatus includes: a packet extraction means that searches for and extracts, from a buffer for sorting and accumulating packets for respective destinations, the packets for the respective destinations and that, if a plurality of packets addressed to an identical destination have been accumulated in the buffer, extracts the plurality of packets from the buffer; and an encapsulation means that encapsulates the packets, which have been extracted by the packet extraction means, into a single packet for each destination.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a packet transmission system, a packettransmission apparatus, a packet transmission method, and the like totransmit packets.

BACKGROUND ART

Mutual transmission of packets among nodes interconnected by way of anetwork has been carried out (see, for example, PTLs 1 and 2).

An example of a configuration of such a packet transmission system isdescribed in NPL 1.

A packet transmission system described in NPL 1 includes a first networknode 500, a second network node 600, and a third network node 700, asillustrated in FIG. 14. The respective network nodes (the first networknode 500, the second network node 600, and the third network node 700)are interconnected by way of a network 800 and communicates with oneanother. In FIG. 14 and the following description that will be made withreference to FIG. 14, a case is assumed in which the number of networknodes is three. However, it is assumed to include three network nodesonly for convenience of description, and it is not intended to limit thenumber of network nodes included in a packet transmission system. Anarbitrary number of network nodes may be included in a packettransmission system.

Next, a configuration of the first network node 500 will be describedwith further reference to FIG. 14. Although the following descriptionwill be made using the configuration of the first network node 500 as anexample, it is assumed that the configurations of the second networknode 600 and the third network node 700 are the same as that of thefirst network node 500.

The first network node 500 includes a packet output application 510, apacket integration queue 520, a packet integration unit 530, a memory540, and a packet receiving unit 550.

The packet output application 510 outputs packets to be transmitted tothe network 800 to the packet integration queue 520.

The packet integration queue 520 accumulates packets that the packetoutput application 510 has output.

The packet integration unit 530 integrates a plurality of packets thathave been accumulated in the packet integration queue 520 and transmitsthe integrated packets to the network 800. The transmitted packets aredelivered to the second network node 600 and/or the third network node700.

The memory 540 holds operational parameters for the packet integrationunit 530.

The packet receiving unit 550 receives packets that the second networknode 600 and/or the third network node 700 have transmitted by way ofthe network 800 and hands the received packets to the packet outputapplication 510.

The packet integration unit 530 holds a timer 531, which is a timer todetect a timeout that provides a chance to transmit an integratedpacket.

Further, the memory 540 holds a minimum integration number 541, whichindicates a minimum value of the number of integrated packets, and atimeout value 542, which indicates a timeout value of packetintegration.

Further, a packet P 521 and packets P′ 522 are illustrated as packetsintegrated in the packet integration queue 520. In this case, the packetP 521 is a leading packet in the packet integration queue 520, and thepackets P′ 522 are packets having the same destination as the packet P521.

An operation of a general packet transmission system having such aconfiguration will be described with reference to a flowchart in FIG.15. As described above, the respective network nodes (the first networknode 500, the second network node 600, and the third network node 700)transmit and receive packets with one another by way of the network 800.The following description will be made using an operation when thepacket output application 510 included in the first network node 500transmits packets to the network 800 as an example.

First, packets that the packet output application 510 has output areaccumulated in the packet integration queue 520. When at least onepacket enters the packet integration queue 520, the packet integrationunit 530 refers to the packet integration queue 520. When the packet P521 is present at the top of the packet integration queue 520 and thenumber of packets P′ 522 with the same destination as the packet P 521accumulated in the packet integration queue 520 is greater than theminimum integration number 541 (Yes in step S51), the packet integrationunit 530 performs the following. That is, the packet integration unit530 creates an integrated packet into which the packet P 521 and thepackets P′ 522 are integrated (step S52).

The number of packets P′ 522 integrated into an integrated packet iseither all the packets P′ 522 or a maximum value of the number ofintegrated packets allowed by a maximum packet length. That is, it isassumed that the number of packets P′ 522 accumulated in the packetintegration queue 520 is three. When an integrated packet into which thethree packets P′ 522 and the packet P 521 are integrated falls withinthe maximum value of the number of integrated packets allowed by themaximum packet length, the packet integration unit 530 creates anintegrated packets into which the three packets P′ 522 and the packet P521 are integrated. On the other hand, when an integrated packet intowhich the above-described three packets P′ 522 and the packet P 521 areintegrated does not fall within the maximum value of the number ofintegrated packets allowed by the maximum packet length, the packetintegration unit 530 creates an integrated packet into which two (orone) packet(s) P′ 522 out of the three packets P′ 522 and the packet P521 are integrated so that the integrated packet falls within themaximum value of the number of integrated packets.

On the other hand, when the condition in step S51 is not satisfied (Noin step S51), the packet integration unit 530 proceeds to step S53without performing processing in step S52.

Next, the packet integration unit 530 refers to the packet integrationqueue 520 and, when the packet P 521 is present at the top of the queueand the timer 531, which was set to the timeout value 542, has timed out(Yes in step S53), performs the following. That is, the packetintegration unit 530 creates a packet into which the packet P 521 andthe packets P′ 522 are integrated (step S54). The number of packets P′522 that are integrated into an integrated packet in this step is thesame as that in step S52.

On the other hand, when the condition in step S53 is not satisfied (Noin step S53), the packet integration unit 530 proceeds to step S55without performing processing in step S54.

Next, when an integrated packet is created in step S52 or S54, thepacket integration unit 530 transmits the created packet to the network800 (step S55).

Next, the packet integration unit 530 resets the timeout value in thetimer 531 to a value defined by the timeout value 542 (step S56). Thepacket integration unit 530 continues time measurement using the timer531 again.

Next, the packet integration unit 530 returning to the operation in stepS51 enables the general packet transmission system to transmit packetsoutput by the packet output application 510 to the network 800continuously.

By means of the operation as described above, the general packettransmission system first integrates a plurality of packets to betransmitted to an identical destination and then transmits theintegrated packet to the network. With this operation, the packettransmission system achieves packet transmission in a wider bandwidthcompared with a case in which a plurality of packets to be transmittedto an identical destination are transmitted individually.

As an example, when the network 800 is a network conforming to awireless LAN (Local Area Network) protocol, a time interval betweenpackets transmitted successively is stipulated by the network protocol.As a result, a transmission band in which the packet output application510 is able to transmit packets to the network 800 is restricted.However, integrating a plurality of packets and transmitting theintegrated packets enable time intervals between packets integrated intoa packet to be eliminated, which makes it possible to achieve a widebandpacket communication.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No.    2009-218652-   PTL 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No.    2007-049696-   NPL 1: K. Kim, S. Ganguly, R. Izmailov, S. Hong ┌On Packet    Aggregation Mechanisms for Improving VoIP Quality in Mesh Networks┘    IEEE 63rd Vehicular Technology Conference, May 7-10, 2006, pp.    891-895

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As described above, the use of a technology described in NPL 1 or thelike enables wideband packet communication to be achieved. However,there have been at least two problems, which will be pointed out below,in the technology described in NPL 1 or the like.

The first problem is that transmission delay occurs to packets inintegrating packets.

That is because packets to be integrated are forced to wait in a packetintegration queue.

The second problem is that management of the packet transmission systemis complicated. That is because a minimum integration number and atimeout value for waiting for packet integration are required to be setproperly in accordance with the conditions of a network, connectednodes, and so on.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide apacket transmission system and the like that enable transmission delaycaused by packet integration to be suppressed and wideband transmissionto be performed.

Solution to Problem

A packet transmission apparatus according to first aspect of the presentinvention includes:

a packet extraction means for, from a buffer in which packets are sortedand accumulated in accordance with each destination, searching forpackets with respect to each destination to extract the packets and,when a plurality of packets addressed to an identical destination areaccumulated, extracting the plurality of packets from the buffer; and

an encapsulation means for encapsulating packets extracted by the packetextraction means into a single packet with respect to each destination.

The packet transmission apparatus is provided.

A packet transmission system according to first aspect of the presentinvention includes:

a plurality of packet transmission apparatuses which includes

a packet extraction means for, from a buffer in which packets are sortedand accumulated in accordance with each destination, searching forpackets with respect to each destination to extract the packets and,when a plurality of packets addressed to an identical destination areaccumulated, extracting the plurality of packets from the buffer; and

an encapsulation means for encapsulating packets extracted by the packetextraction means into a single packet with respect to each destination.

A packet transmission method according to first aspect of the presentinvention is a transmission method performed by the packet transmissionapparatus and includes:

, from a buffer in which packets are sorted and accumulated inaccordance with each destination, searching for packets with respect toeach destination to extract the packets and, when a plurality of packetsaddressed to an identical destination are accumulated, extracting theplurality of packets from the buffer; and

encapsulating extracted packets into a single packet with respect toeach destination.

A program storage medium according to first aspect of the presentinvention storing a packet transmission program that causes a computerto execute:

a process that, from a buffer in which packets are sorted andaccumulated in accordance with each destination, searches for packetswith respect to each destination to extract the packets and, when aplurality of packets addressed to an identical destination areaccumulated, extracting the plurality of packets from the buffer; and

a process that encapsulates extracted packets into a single packet withrespect to each destination.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

A first advantageous effect of the present invention is to enabletransmission delay caused by packet integration to be suppressed andwideband transmission to be performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall basic configuration ofa first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a packetintegration device in the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating three modes in the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a packetintegration queue and so on of the packet integration device in thefirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the packetintegration queue and so on of the packet integration device in thefirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for a description of an encapsulationtable of the packet integration device in the first exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for a description of encapsulation by thepacket integration device in the first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart (1/4) illustrating an operation of the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart (2/4) illustrating an operation of the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart (3/4) illustrating an operation of the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart (4/4) illustrating an operation of the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram exemplifying a hardware configuration of the packetintegration devices in respective exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a packettransmission apparatus in a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of ageneral technology; and

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the generaltechnology.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Exemplary Embodiment

First, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will besummarized. An object of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention is to solve problems in that transmission delay occurs topackets to be integrated and the number of integrated packets and atimeout value for waiting for packet integration being required to beset causes management to become complicated when a plurality of packetsare integrated and transmitted to a network.

To solve the above problems, a packet transmission system, which is anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, includes a bufferconfigured to sort and accumulate packets in internal queues forrespective destinations and an extraction unit. The extraction unitsearches the internal queues in the buffer at a preset rate in around-robin fashion and extracts all packets addressed to an identicaldestination that have been accumulated in an internal queue beingsearched. The packet transmission system extracts all packets addressedto an identical destination that have been accumulated in the bufferusing a limit, defined based on a maximum packet length for the network,as an upper limit of the total size of the extracted packets, andencapsulates one or more extracted packets into a single packet totransmit the encapsulated packet to the network.

Employing such a configuration and integrating and encapsulating aplurality of packets addressed to an identical destination that areaccumulated at the time in an internal queue being searched in around-robin fashion to transmit the encapsulated packet to the networkenable a plurality of packets to be integrated and encapsulated withoutcausing a transmission delay to the packets. This configuration enablesan overhead on a network bandwidth caused by encapsulation headers to bereduced, compared with a case in which a plurality of packets areindividually encapsulated and transmitted to the network, and widebandpacket transmission to be achieved. Moreover, since packets that areaccumulated at the time in an internal queue, which is searched in around-robin fashion, are integrated, the number of packets to beintegrated can be set automatically. With this configuration, it becomespossible to solve the above-described problems. The above is a summaryof the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Next, a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionincludes a first packet output node 110, a second packet output node210, and a third packet output node 310 and a first packet integrationdevice 120, a second packet integration device 220, and a third packetintegration device 320. In the above configuration, the first packetintegration device 120, the second packet integration device 220, andthe third packet integration device 320 are equivalent to a “packettransmission apparatus” of the claimed invention.

The first packet output node 110, the second packet output node 210, andthe third packet output node 310 perform transmission and reception ofpackets among the packet output nodes with one another.

The first packet integration device 120, the second packet integrationdevice 220, and the third packet integration device 320 areinterconnected by way of a network 400. Each packet integration deviceintegrates a plurality of packets that the first packet output node 110,the second packet output node 210, or the third packet output node 310has output and transmits the integrated packet to the network 400.

The configurations of the first packet output node 110, the secondpacket output node 210, and the third packet output node 310 are thesame as one another. The configurations of the first packet integrationdevice 120, the second packet integration device 220, and the thirdpacket integration device 320 are also the same as one another. In thedescription herein, a case is assumed in which three combinations of apacket output node and a packet integration device are involved.However, the number of combinations is set at three only for convenienceof description, and it is not intended to limit the number ofcombinations of a packet output node and a packet integration deviceincluded in the packet transmission system. An arbitrary number ofcombinations of a packet output node and a packet integration device maybe included in the packet transmission system. While the packet outputnodes and packet integration devices may be achieved as a plurality ofindividually separate apparatuses, a single apparatus may achieve both apacket output node and a packet integration device.

Next, functional blocks included in the first packet integration device120 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. While the followingdescription will be made using the first packet integration device 120as an example, the second packet integration device 220 and the thirdpacket integration device 320 have the same configurations as the firstpacket integration device 120, as described above. The second packetintegration device 220 and the third packet integration device 320 alsoperform the same operation processes as the first packet integrationdevice 120. Thus, detailed descriptions of the second packet integrationdevice 220 and the third packet integration device 320 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2, the first packet integration device 120 includes apacket integration queue 121, a packet extraction unit 122, a ratesetting unit 123, a packet encapsulation unit 124, an encapsulationtable 125, a retransmission congestion control unit 126, and a packetdecapsulation unit 127.

The packet integration queue 121 includes a plurality of internal queueseach of which corresponds to a destination of packets. The packetintegration queue 121 sorts packets that the first packet output node110 has output in accordance with each destination and accumulates eachpacket in an internal queue corresponding to the destination of thepacket.

The packet extraction unit 122 extracts a plurality of packets addressedto an identical destination, which have been accumulated in the packetintegration queue 121.

The rate setting unit 123 sets a rate at which the packet extractionunit 122 performs packet extraction.

The packet encapsulation unit 124 encapsulates a plurality of packetsaddressed to an identical destination, which the packet extraction unit122 has extracted, into a single packet.

The encapsulation table 125 holds information on destination addressesone of which is written in a header of an encapsulated packet when thepacket encapsulation unit 124 encapsulates a plurality of packetsaddressed to an identical destination.

The retransmission congestion control unit 126 transmits packets, intoeach of which a plurality of packets are encapsulated, to the network400 at such a rate that no congestion occurs on the network 400. Inaddition, the retransmission congestion control unit 126 receivespackets, which are encapsulated by other packet integration devicesother than the first packet integration device 120, by way of thenetwork 400. The retransmission congestion control unit 126 transmitsreceived packets to the packet decapsulation unit 127.

The packet decapsulation unit 127 receives packets, into each of which aplurality of packets are encapsulated, from the retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 and decapsulates the received packets torestore a plurality of original packets. The packet decapsulation unit127 then transmits a plurality of restored packets to the first packetoutput node 110.

Next, the above-described respective components will be described inmore detail.

First, the rate setting unit 123 will be described with reference toFIG. 3. The rate setting unit 123 sets the packet extraction unit 122 sothat the packet extraction unit 122 operates in any one mode of threemodes illustrated in FIG. 3 ((A): a physical link band mode 123-A, (B):a congestion control band mode 123-B, and (C): an individual flow bandmode 123-C). Hereinafter, each of these modes will be described. In thefollowing description, it is assumed that a “band” indicates a“transmission line capacity”, which is a transferable bit rate.

<(A): Physical Link Band Mode 123-A>

In (A): the physical link band mode 123-A, the rate setting unit 123sets the packet extraction unit 122 so that the packet extraction unit122 extracts packets from the packet integration queue 121 in around-robin fashion at a “band of a network link by which theretransmission congestion control unit 126 and the network 400 areconnected to each other”. Upon setting this mode, the rate setting unit123 notifies the packet extraction unit 122 of the band of the networklink by which the retransmission congestion control unit 126 and thenetwork 400 are connected to each other.

<(B): Congestion Control Band Mode 123-B>

In (B): the congestion control band mode 123-B, the rate setting unit123 sets the packet extraction unit 122 so that the packet extractionunit 122 extracts packets from the packet integration queue 121 in around-robin fashion at either of the following rates, whichever is theslower. That is, the packet extraction unit 122 extracts packets ateither “the total value of packet transmission rates each of which theretransmission congestion control unit 126 has set for each destinationof packets” or the “band of the network link by which the retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 and the network 400 are connected to eachother”, whichever is the slower rate. Upon setting this mode, the ratesetting unit 123 notifies the packet extraction unit 122 of “the totalvalue of packet transmission rates each of which the retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 has set for each destination of packets” andthe “band of the network link by which the retransmission congestioncontrol unit 126 and the network 400 are connected to each other”.

<(C): Individual Flow Band Mode 123-C>

In (C): the individual flow band mode 123-C, the rate setting unit 123sets the packet extraction unit 122 to extract packets addressed to eachdestination from the packet integration queue 121 at “the same rate as arate at which the retransmission congestion control unit 126 transmitspackets to the destination”. That is, in the above-described (A): thephysical link band mode 123-A and (B): the congestion control band mode123-B, packets are extracted in order at a predetermined rate regardlessof which packet output node each packet is addressed to. Whileextraction rates for respective destinations are thus the same in thesemodes, packets are extracted at a different rate for each destinationthereof in the individual flow band mode 123-C.

Specifically, in (C): the individual flow band mode 123-C, when, forexample, rates at which packets are transmitted to a first destinationand a second destination are a “rate A” and a “rate B”, respectively,setting is performed in the following manner. That is, the setting isperformed so that, for internal queues corresponding to the firstdestination and the second destination in the packet integration queue121, packets are extracted at rates corresponding to the “rate A” andthe “rate B”, respectively. How the packet extraction unit 122 performsextraction specifically after setting has been done for each mode willbe described later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Upon setting thismode, the rate setting unit 123 notifies the packet extraction unit 122of “rates at which the retransmission congestion control unit 126transmits packets to respective destinations connected by way of thenetwork 400”.

Next, processing of the packet extraction unit 122 and internal queuesin the packet integration queue 121 when any of these three modes is setwill be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the packet integration queue 121 holds asmany internal queues 121-1 as the number of destination nodes to sortand accumulate packets, which the first packet output node 110 hasoutput, in accordance with each destination. In FIGS. 4 and 5, internalqueues 121-1-1 to 121-1-n are illustrated as the internal queues 121-1.In the drawings, “n”, which is used in reference signs, is an integergreater than or equal to 2 and at least the same as the number ofdestination nodes. When, in the following description, description ismade without particularly specifying any or all of the internal queues121-1-1 to 121-1-n, the internal queue(s) will be simply referred to asan “internal queue(s) 121-1”.

The packet integration queue 121 sorts packets, which the first packetoutput node 110 has output, in accordance with each destination in theorder of receipt and accumulates the packets in the internal queues121-1 corresponding to respective destination nodes.

On the other hand, the packet extraction unit 122 operates in any mode,which has been set by the rate setting unit 123, of the above-describedthree modes.

When the packet extraction unit 122 is set to the above-described (A):the physical link band mode 123-A or (B): the congestion control bandmode 123-B, the packet extraction unit 122 extracts packets from thepacket integration queue 121 in a round-robin fashion at a rate (datacapacity per unit time) that has been specified by the rate setting unit123.

This feature will be described with reference to FIG. 4, which is adiagram that illustrates the packet extraction in a round-robin fashion.Referring to FIG. 4, in the packet extraction in a round-robin fashion,the packet extraction unit 122 searches the internal queues 121-1 inorder with respect to each destination that the packet integration queue121 holds. In the search, when packets addressed to an identicaldestination have been accumulated in a searched internal queue 121-1,the packet extraction unit 122 extracts all the accumulated packets andhands all the extracted packets to the packet encapsulation unit 124.However, when a size obtainable by totaling the sizes of respectivepackets accumulated in a searched internal queue 121-1 surpasses anupper limit of the size of the data portion in a packet, which isdefined for the network 400, all the packets accumulated in the searchedinternal queue 121-1, even if they were extracted and encapsulated,could not be transmitted to the network 400. Thus, in such a case, onlypackets in such a number that the total value of the sizes of thepackets to be extracted does not surpass the upper limit of the size ofthe data portion in a packet defined for the network 400 are extractedfrom the internal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121. The“upper limit of the size of the data portion in a packet defined for thenetwork 400” mentioned in the above and following descriptions indicatesthe data length of an area into which transmission data can be stored,which is calculated by subtracting a packet header length and the likedefined for the network 400 from a maximum packet length defined for thenetwork 400. As an alternative method, an upper limit of the total sizeof or an upper limit of the total number of packets to be extracted at atime from an internal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121may be determined in advance, and only packets may be extracted in sucha number that the total size of or total number of the packets does notsurpass the determined upper limit of the total size or total number.

Next, a case in which the packet extraction unit 122 is set to (C): theindividual flow band mode 123-C will be described. In this case, at a“rate of transmission to the network 400 that the retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 has set for each destination”, the packetextraction unit 122 extracts packets addressed to the destination fromthe packet integration queue 121.

The packet extraction at a “rate of transmission to the network 400 thatthe retransmission congestion control unit 126 has set for eachdestination” will now be described with reference to FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, the packet extraction unit 122 holds flow-by-flowcredit buffers 122-1 and a credit recalculation timer 122-2 internallyfor an operation in (C): the individual flow band mode 123-C. In FIG. 5,flow-by-flow credit buffers 122-1-1 to 122-1-n are illustrated as theflow-by-flow credit buffers 122-1. In the diagram, “n”, which is used inreference signs, is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and at leastthe same as the number of destination nodes. When, in the followingdescription, description is made without particularly specifying any orall of the flow-by-flow credit buffers 122-1-1 to 122-1-n, theflow-by-flow credit buffer(s) will be simply referred to as a“flow-by-flow credit buffer(s) 122-1”.

Each flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 holds an element corresponding toa destination with which the first packet output node 110 performscommunication. Specifically, into a flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1,credits corresponding to a transmission rate for each destination, whichhas been notified to the packet extraction unit 122 by the rate settingunit 123, are accumulated as the time passes. As used herein, creditsare, for example, the total size of one or a plurality of packets thatcan be transmitted (that is, can be extracted) at the correspondingtransmission rate. When packet extraction from an internal queue 121-1is performed by the packet extraction unit 122, credits equivalent tothe total size of extracted packets are subtracted from a value in aflow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 corresponding to the same destinationas that of the internal queue 121-1 from which the packets areextracted.

The credit recalculation timer 122-2 is a timer that is used to manage aperiod at which credits are accumulated in the flow-by-flow creditbuffers 122-1.

The packet extraction unit 122 searches the internal queues 121-1 in thepacket integration queue 121 by a cyclic check in a round-robin fashion.In the search, the packet extraction unit 122 refers to a flow-by-flowcredit buffer 122-1 corresponding to a destination that corresponds toeach internal queue 121-1. When the number of credits accumulated in thecredit buffer 122-1 is greater than or equal to the total size ofpackets accumulated in the internal queue 121-1, the packet extractionunit 122 extracts all the accumulated packets from the internal queue121-1. The packet extraction unit 122 hands all the extracted packets tothe packet encapsulation unit 124. However, when the size obtainable bytotaling the sizes of respective packets accumulated in a searchedinternal queue 121-1 surpasses the upper limit of the size of the dataportion in a packet defined for the network 400, the packet extractionunit 122 could not transmit all the packets accumulated in the searchedinternal queue 121-1 to the network 400 even if the packets wereextracted and encapsulated. Thus, in such a case, the packet extractionunit 122 extracts, from the internal queue 121-1 in the packetintegration queue 121, only packets in such a number that the totalvalue of the sizes of the packets to be extracted does not surpass theupper limit of the size of the data portion in a packet defined for thenetwork 400. As an alternative method, an upper limit of the total sizeof or an upper limit of the total number of packets to be extracted at atime from an internal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121may be determined in advance, and only packets may be extracted in sucha number that the total size of or total number of the packets does notsurpass the determined upper limit of the total size or total number.The packet extraction unit 122, which has performed the extraction,subtracts the number of credits corresponding to the total size of aplurality of packets extracted from the internal queue 121-1 in thepacket integration queue 121 from an element in the flow-by-flow creditbuffers 122-1 corresponding to the destination of the packets.

Next, information included in the encapsulation table 125 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6.

The encapsulation table 125 holds information on addresses each of whichis written in the header of an encapsulated packet when packets that thefirst packet output node 110 has transmitted are encapsulated.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the encapsulation table 125 stores destinationaddresses of packets that the first packet output node 110 hastransmitted and destination addresses of packets that are used inencapsulation in association with each other. On this occasion, a packetdestination address may be not only a single value but also a certainrange of addresses. For example, a destination memory address used as adestination address in a packet on a PCI (Peripheral ComponentInterconnect) Express bus is an example. In such a case, it is alsopossible to store a certain range of addresses, which are destinationaddresses of packets, as an element of the packet destination addresscolumn in the encapsulation table 125 and to associate the range with anencapsulation address.

The packet encapsulation unit 124 receives one or more packets thepacket output nodes of which, which serve as destinations, are the samefrom the packet extraction unit 122 and refers to the encapsulationtable 125. The packet encapsulation unit 124, using the destination ofthe packets received from the packet extraction unit 122 as a searchkey, searches the encapsulation table 125 for an address that is used inencapsulation. The packet encapsulation unit 124 integrates the one ormore packets received from the packet extraction unit 122 and uses theintegrated packet as a data portion in encapsulation, as illustrated inFIG. 7. The packet encapsulation unit 124, by adding an address forencapsulation, which has been searched for in the encapsulation table125, to the data portion as an encapsulated header, generates anencapsulated packet. The packet encapsulation unit 124 hands theencapsulated packet to the retransmission congestion control unit 126.

The retransmission congestion control unit 126 transmits packetsreceived from the packet encapsulation unit 124 to the network 400,adjusting a transmission rate so as not to cause congestion on thenetwork 400. For this purpose, the retransmission congestion controlunit 126 controls a rate at which packets are transmitted or the likefor each destination connected to the network 400. The retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 notifies the rate setting unit 123 of all ora portion of information, such as a “packet transmission rate for eachdestination”, “the total value of the packet transmission rates”, and a“physical band of the network link connected to the network 400”. Whenpackets transmitted to the network 400 do not reach the destinationthereof due to some conditions on the network 400, such as congestionand a bit error, the retransmission congestion control unit 126retransmits those packets. The retransmission congestion control unit126 also hands packets, into each of which a plurality of packets areencapsulated, received from the network 400 to the packet decapsulationunit 127. Such packets, into each of which a plurality of packets areencapsulated, are packets generated through encapsulation by anotherpacket integration device connected to a packet output node that is thetransmission source of the packets.

Next, a detailed operation of the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, withreference to the block diagram in FIG. 2 and a flowchart in FIG. 8, anoperation in which the first packet output node 110 transmits packets tothe network 400 in the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionwill be described. Although, in the following description, an operationof the first packet output node 110 and first packet integration device120 when the first packet output node 110 transmits packets to thenetwork 400 will be described as an example, other packet output nodesand packet integration devices operate in the same manner intransmitting packets to the network 400.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the firstpacket output node 110 transmits packets to the network 400.

First, the first packet output node 110 outputs packets (step S11).

Next, the packet integration queue 121 receives packets from the firstpacket output node 110 and accumulates the received packets in theinternal queues 121-1 each corresponding to packet output nodes that arethe destinations of the received packets (step S12).

Subsequently, the packet extraction unit 122 operates in any of theabove-described three modes ((A): the physical link band mode 123-A,(B): the congestion control band mode 123-B, and (C): the individualflow band mode 123-C). When in (A): the physical link band mode 123-A or(B): the congestion control band mode 123-B, the packet extraction unit122 searches the internal queues 121-1 in the packet integration queue121 by a cyclic check in a round-robin fashion. The packet extractionunit 122 extracts all packets addressed to an identical destination thathave been accumulated in an internal queue 121-1 being searched (stepS13).

However, when the size obtainable by totaling the sizes of respectivepackets accumulated in a searched internal queue 121-1 surpasses theupper limit of the size of the data portion in a packet defined for thenetwork 400, all the packets accumulated in the searched internal queue121-1 could not be transmitted to the network 400 even if the packetswere extracted and encapsulated. Thus, in such a case, the packetextraction unit 122 extracts, from the internal queue 121-1 in thepacket integration queue 121, only packets in such a number that thetotal value of the sizes of the packets to be extracted does not surpassthe upper limit of the size of the data portion in a packet defined forthe network 400. As an alternative method, an upper limit of the totalsize of or an upper limit of the total number of packets to be extractedat a time from an internal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue121 may be determined in advance. On that basis, only packets may beextracted in such a number that the total size of or total number of thepackets does not surpass the determined upper limit of the total size ortotal number.

In an operation in (C): the individual flow band mode 123-C, the packetextraction unit 122 also searches the internal queues 121-1 in thepacket integration queue 121 by a cyclic check in a round-robin fashion.With regard to an internal queue 121-1 currently being searched, thetotal size of packets addressed to an identical destination that areaccumulated in the internal queue 121-1 at the time and residual creditswritten in an element of the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1corresponding to the destination are compared with each other. When, asa result of the comparison, the number of residual credits is greaterthan or equal to the total size of accumulated packets, the packetextraction unit 122 extracts all the packets from the internal buffercurrently being searched in the packet integration queue 121 (step S13).However, when the size obtainable by totaling the sizes of respectivepackets addressed to an identical destination accumulated in theinternal queue 121-1 surpasses the upper limit of the size of the dataportion in a packet defined for the network 400, the packet extractionunit 122 compares the total size of packets in such a number that thetotal size of the packets does not surpass the upper limit with theelement in the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1. With this operation,the packet extraction unit 122 decides whether or not to extractpackets. In the case of a decision to extract packets, the packetextraction unit 122 extracts only packets in such a number that thetotal size of the packets does not surpass the upper limit. As analternative method, an upper limit of the total size of or an upperlimit of the total number of packets to be extracted at a time from aninternal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121 may bedetermined in advance. Only packets may be extracted in such a numberthat the total size of or total number of the packets does not surpassthe determined upper limit of the total size or total number. In thiscase, the packet extraction unit 122 compares a size obtainable bytotaling the sizes of respective packets the total size of which doesnot surpass the upper limit with a corresponding element in theflow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 and, when the number of residualcredits is greater than or equal to the total size of the packets,extracts the packets the total size of which does not surpass the upperlimit from the internal queue 121-1. In both cases, the packetextraction unit 122, which has performed extraction, subtracts thenumber of credits equivalent to the total size of a plurality of packetsthat have been extracted from the internal queue 121-1 in the packetintegration queue 121 from an element of the flow-by-flow credit buffer122-1 corresponding to the destination of the packets.

Next, referring to the encapsulation table 125, the packet encapsulationunit 124, using the destination address of one or more packets receivedfrom the packet extraction unit 122 as a search key, searches for anencapsulation address that corresponds to the one or more packetsreceived from the packet extraction unit 122 (step S14).

Subsequently, using the searched address, the packet encapsulation unit124 encapsulates the one or more packets received from the packetextraction unit 122 into a single packet, as illustrated in FIG. 7 (stepS15). An encapsulation header is used for the encapsulation of the oneor more packets, and the address that has been searched for in step S14is used for a destination address in the encapsulation header.

Subsequently, the retransmission congestion control unit 126 receives apacket from the packet encapsulation unit 124 and transmits the packetto the network 400 at a transmission rate that is determined for eachdestination packet output node (step S16).

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 9, an operation of the packetextraction unit 122 when the packet extraction unit 122 is set to either(A): the physical link band mode 123-A or (B): the congestion controlband mode 123-B will be described. Such an operation is equivalent tothe operation in step S13 among the operations illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the packet extractionunit 122 when the packet extraction unit 122 is set to either (A): thephysical link band mode 123-A or (B): the congestion control band mode123-B.

First, the rate setting unit 123 determines a rate (amount of extracteddata per unit time) at which the packet extraction unit 122 operates ina round-robin fashion (step S21). In (A): the physical link band mode123-A, the rate of round-robin operation is equivalent to a band of thenetwork link by which the retransmission congestion control unit 126 isconnected to the network 400. On the other hand, in (B): the congestioncontrol band mode 123-B, the rate of round-robin operation is equivalentto either “the total value of packet transmission rates each of whichthe retransmission congestion control unit 126 has set for eachdestination of packets” or a “band of the network link by which theretransmission congestion control unit 126 and the network 400 areconnected to each other”, whichever is the slower rate.

Next, the packet extraction unit 122 refers to the first internal queue121-1 in the packet integration queue 121, extracts all packetsaccumulated in the queue, and hands the packets to the packetencapsulation unit (step S22). However, when the size obtainable bytotaling the sizes of respective packets addressed to an identicaldestination that have been accumulated in the internal queue 121-1surpasses the upper limit of the size of the data portion in a packetdefined for the network 400, the packet extraction unit 122 compares thetotal size of packets in such a number that the total size of thepackets does not surpass the upper limit with an element of theflow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1. On the basis of a result of thecomparison, the packet extraction unit 122 decides whether or not toextract packets. In the case of a decision to extract packets, thepacket extraction unit 122 extracts only packets in such a number thatthe total size of the packets does not surpass the upper limit. As analternative method, an upper limit of the total size of or an upperlimit of the total number of packets to be extracted at a time from theinternal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121 may bedetermined in advance, and only packets may be extracted in such anumber that the total size of or total number of the packets does notsurpass the determined upper limit of the total size or total number.

Next, the packet extraction unit 122 confirms whether or not theinternal queue 121-1 from which packets were extracted in step S22 ofthe current round is the last internal queue 121-1 that the packetintegration queue 121 holds (step S23). When, as a result of theconfirmation, the internal queue 121-1 from which packets were extractedin step S22 of the current round does not apply to the last internalqueue 121-1 (No in step S23), the packet extraction unit 122 extractspackets from a queue succeeding the internal queue 121-1 from whichpackets were extracted in step S22 of the current round (step S24). Anoperation in step S24 is the same as the operation of packet extractionin step S22. Subsequently, the packet extraction unit 122 returns tostep S23 and continues the operation. As described above, repeatingsteps S23 and S24 thereafter causes the packet extraction to be repeatedto the last internal queue 121-1 that the packet integration queue 121holds.

When the packet extraction reaches the last internal buffer (Yes in stepS23), return to step S22 brings a turn extracting packets back to thefirst internal queue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121.

Thereafter, step S22 and the subsequent steps are repeated. In (B): thecongestion control band mode 123-B, the rate of round-robin operationperformed by the packet extraction unit 122, which was determined instep S21, can be updated at every predetermined period. In that case,for the calculation of an updated value of the rate, transmission ratesat the time, each of which is determined by the retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 for each destination, are used. The packetextraction unit 122 repeats the round-robin operation at either “thetotal value of packet transmission rates at the time each of which theretransmission congestion control unit 126 has set for each destinationof packets” or the “band of the network link by which the retransmissioncongestion control unit 126 and the network 400 are connected to eachother”, whichever is the slower rate.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5, 10, and 11, an operation of the packetextraction unit 122 when the packet extraction unit 122 is set to (C):the individual flow band mode 123-C will be described. Such an operationis equivalent to the operation in step S13 among the operationsillustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the packetextraction unit 122 when the packet extraction unit 122 is set to (C):the individual flow band mode 123-C. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustratingan operation in which the packet extraction unit 122 updates credits inthe flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1.

The packet extraction unit 122 checks residual credits for a destinationcorresponding to the first internal queue 121-1 in the packetintegration queue 121 by means of referring to an element of theflow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 corresponding to the destination (stepS31).

Subsequently, when the number of the checked credits is greater than orequal to the total size of packets accumulated in the first internalqueue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121 (Yes in step S32), thepacket extraction unit 122 extracts all the packets from the internalqueue 121-1 (step S33).

The packet extraction unit 122 subtracts the number of creditsequivalent to the total size of the extracted packets from the elementof the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 corresponding to the destination(step S34). As described earlier in the description of the configurationof the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 and the description of step S13,packets that the packet extraction unit 122 extracts from an internalbuffer in the packet integration queue 121 are not always all packetsthat have been accumulated in the internal queue 121-1, and there is acase in which only packets are extracted in such a number that the totalsize of the packets to be extracted does not surpass a maximum packetlength defined for the network 400 or the total size of or total numberof the packets does not surpass a predetermined total size or totalnumber. Such an operation is the same as the operation described in stepS13. In that case, it is assumed that the number of credits that thepacket extraction unit 122 subtracts from the element of theflow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 corresponding to the destination is thenumber of credits equivalent to the total size of packets that thepacket extraction unit 122 has actually extracted instead of all thepackets accumulated in the internal queue 121-1. In this case, in stepS32, the packet extraction unit 122 may be configured to determine “Yesin step S32” if the number of credits that is greater than or equal tothe total size of packets to be actually extracted, instead of all thepackets accumulated in the internal queue 121-1, remains.

Subsequently, the packet extraction unit 122 confirms whether or not theinternal queue 121-1 from which packets have been extracted is the lastinternal queue 121-1 that the packet integration queue 121 holds (stepS35). If not the last queue (No in step S35), the packet extraction unit122 refers to an element of the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1corresponding to the destination of a succeeding internal queue 121-1 tocheck the number of credits in the element (step S36).

Next, when the number of checked credits is greater than or equal to thetotal size of packets accumulated in the internal queue 121-1 in thepacket integration queue 121 for the destination corresponding to thechecked credits (Yes in step S37), the packet extraction unit 122extracts all the packets from the internal queue 121-1 (step S38).

The packet extraction unit 122 then subtracts the number of creditsequivalent to the total size of the extracted packets from the elementof the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 corresponding to the destination(step S39). In this operation, a feature that packets that the packetextraction unit 122 extracts from an internal buffer in the packetintegration queue 121 are not always all packets accumulated in theinternal queue 121-1 and there is a case in which only packets areextracted in such a number that the total size of the packets to beextracted does not surpass the maximum packet length of the data portionin a packet defined for the network 400 or the total size of or totalnumber of the packets does not surpass a predetermined total size ortotal number is the same as that of the operation in step S33. Inaddition, a feature that, in such a case, the packet extraction unit 122may be configured to subtract only the number of credits equivalent toactually extracted packets and to determine “Yes in step S36” if thenumber of credits greater than or equal to the total size of packets tobe actually extracted remains is also the same as steps S32 and S33.

Subsequently, the packet extraction unit 122 returns the process to stepS35. The packet extraction unit 122 repeats operations in steps S35 toS39 until the internal queue subjected to the operations reaches thelast internal queue 121-1 that the packet integration queue 121 holds,that is, until it is determined Yes in step S35. The packet extractionunit 122, after reaching the last internal buffer (Yes in step S35),returning to the first internal buffer that the packet integration queue121 holds brings a turn extracting packets back to the first internalqueue 121-1 in the packet integration queue 121. Thereafter, theoperations in steps S31 to S39 are repeated in the same manner as theabove-described operations.

On the other hand, in parallel with performing operations of extractingpackets received from the first packet output node 110 and handing theextracted packets to the packet encapsulation unit 124 through theabove-described operations in steps S31 to S39, the packet extractionunit 122 performs an operation of updating the flow-by-flow creditbuffer 122-1 periodically. The operation of updating the flow-by-flowcredit buffer 122-1 periodically will be described with reference to aflowchart in FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. 11, the packet extraction unit 122 first receives,from the rate setting unit 123, transmission rates each of which theretransmission congestion control unit 126 has set for each destinationnode. The packet extraction unit 122 updates the flow-by-flow creditbuffer 122-1, using the numbers of credits each of which depends on atransmission rate to each destination (step S41).

Next, the packet extraction unit 122 sets the credit recalculation timer122-2 to a predetermined value (step S42).

Subsequently, the packet extraction unit 122 waits for a timeout of thecredit recalculation timer 122-2 (step S43) and, after a timeout,returns to step S41. In the operation in step S41 performedsubsequently, the packet extraction unit 122 receives, from the ratesetting unit 123, new transmission rates each of which theretransmission congestion control unit 126 has set for each destinationat the time and uses the received values in the credit calculation.Repetition of these steps by the packet extraction unit 122 enablesperiodical updates of the flow-by-flow credit buffer 122-1 to beachieved.

In the exemplary embodiment described thus far, the packet extractionunit searches internal buffers in the packet integration queue 121 in around-robin fashion, extracts and encapsulates all packets accumulatedin each of the searched internal buffers using the maximum number ofpackets allowable for the network as an upper limit, and transmits theencapsulated packet to the network.

Employing such a configuration enables packets accumulated in the packetintegration queue to be transmitted to the network, without causing atransmission delay to the packets, immediately when a correspondinginternal queue becomes subject to search by the packet extraction unit122 in a round-robin fashion.

The number of packets to be encapsulated is the number of packets thathave been accumulated in an internal buffer in the packet integrationqueue 121 at the time, and the number of packets to be integrated in anencapsulation can be set automatically.

Furthermore, integrating and encapsulating a plurality of packets andtransmitting the encapsulated packet to the network through theseoperations enables an overhead on a network bandwidth caused byencapsulation headers to be reduced, compared with a case in whichpackets are individually encapsulated and transmitted to the network.Therefore, wideband packet transmission can be achieved.

Although the above-described exemplary embodiment is a suitableexemplary embodiment for the present invention, the scope of the presentinvention is not limited to only the above-described exemplaryembodiment and the present invention can be embodied with variousmodifications without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above description, three modes, illustrated in FIG.3 or the like, was provided, and the packet extraction unit 122 was setto any of the three modes. However, the packet extraction unit 122 doesnot always have to be configured like the above and may be configured tooperate at another rate other than the rates defined in respective onesof the three modes. That is, another mode other than the three modes,illustrated in FIG. 3, may be provided. All the three modes do notalways have to be provided. For example, only one mode may be provided.

Each of the respective packet output nodes and packet integrationdevices, which were described above, can be achieved by hardware,software, or a combination thereof. Each component of a packet outputnode and a packet integration device illustrated in FIG. 2 or the likeis achieved by, for example, hardware resources exemplified in FIG. 12.That is, a configuration illustrated in FIG. 12 includes a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11, a ROM (Read OnlyMemory) 12, an external connection interface 13, and a storage medium14. The CPU 10, by means of reading out various software programs(computer programs) stored in the ROM 12 or the storage medium 14 ontothe RAM 11 and executing the read-out programs, controls overalloperations of the packet output node and the packet integration device.A packet transmission method performed by each of the packet outputnodes and the packet integration devices, which were described above,can also be achieved by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Asused herein, the expression “achieved by software” means that the methodis achieved by a computer reading a program and executing the readprogram.

The programs can be stored in various types of non-transitory computerreadable media and supplied to a computer. The non-transitory computerreadable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examplesof the non-transitory computer readable media include a magnetic storagemedium (for example, flexible disk, magnetic tape, and hard disk drive),a magneto optical storage medium (for example, magneto optical disk), aCD-ROM (Read Only Memory), a CD-R, a CD-R/W, a semiconductor memory (forexample, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flashROM, RAM (random access memory)). The programs may also be supplied to acomputer by means of various types of transitory computer readablemedia. Examples of the transitory computer readable media include anelectrical signal, an optical signal, and electromagnetic waves. Thetransitory computer readable media are capable of supplying the programsto a computer by way of a wired communication path, such as an electricwire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path.

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention as described thus farhas advantageous effects as described below.

A first advantageous effect is that integrating and encapsulating aplurality of packets and transmitting the encapsulated packet to anetwork without causing a delay to the packets enables a wideband packettransmission system to be achieved.

That is because a plurality of packets addressed to an identicaldestination that have been accumulated in a buffer for packetaccumulation when the buffer is searched are integrated andencapsulated.

A second advantageous effect is that a wideband packet transmissionsystem in which the number of packets to be integrated can be setautomatically and parameter setting is not required can be achieved.

The reason for the second advantageous effect is the same as that of thefirst advantageous effect.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a packettransmission apparatus 400 according to a second exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the packettransmission apparatus 400 includes a packet extraction unit 410 and anencapsulation unit 420.

The packet extraction unit 410 searches a buffer, which is configured tosort and accumulate packets in accordance with each destination, forpackets with respect to each destination and extracts packets addressedto an identical destination from the buffer and, when a plurality ofpackets addressed to an identical destination are accumulated, extractsthe plurality of packets from the buffer.

The encapsulation unit 420 encapsulates packets extracted by the packetextraction unit 410 into a single packet with respect to eachdestination.

According to the second exemplary embodiment, employing theabove-described configuration enables transmission delay caused bypacket integration to be suppressed and wideband transmission to beperformed.

All or part of the exemplary embodiments described above may bedescribed as in the following supplementary notes, but the presentinvention is not limited thereto.

(Supplemental note 1) A packet transmission apparatus, including:

a packet extraction means for, when a plurality of packets addressed toan identical destination are accumulated in a buffer configured to sortand accumulate packets in accordance with each destination, extractingthe plurality of packets all at a time,

wherein the extraction is performed to encapsulate the packets extractedat a time into a single packet with respect to each destination andthereafter transmit the encapsulated packet to the destination.

(Supplemental note 2) The packet transmission apparatus according toSupplemental note 1, further including:

the buffer configured to sort and accumulate packets in accordance witheach destination;

an encapsulation means for encapsulating all the packets extracted at atime by the packet extraction means into a single packet; and

a transmission means for transmitting the encapsulated packet to thedestination by way of a network.

(Supplemental note 3) The packet transmission apparatus according toSupplemental note 1 or 2, wherein

the packet extraction means, by a cyclic check in a round-robin fashion,extracts packets addressed to respective destinations in order.

(Supplemental note 4) The packet transmission apparatus according to anyone of Supplemental notes 1 to 3, further including:

determining a rate at which the packet extraction means performs thepacket extraction based on a band of a network connected to the packettransmission apparatus.

(Supplemental note 5)

The packet transmission apparatus according to any one of Supplementalnotes 1 to 3, wherein

a rate at which the packet extraction means performs the packetextraction is determined based on either a total of transmission rateseach of which is set for each destination connected to the packettransmission apparatus by way of a network or a band of the networkconnected to the packet transmission apparatus, whichever is the slowerrate.

(Supplemental note 6) The packet transmission apparatus according to anyone of Supplemental notes 1 to 3, wherein

the packet extraction means, even when a plurality of packets addressedto an identical destination are accumulated, does not perform theextraction unless a predetermined condition is met that is defined onthe basis of a transmission rate that is set for each destination, whichis connected to the packet transmission apparatus by way of a network.

(Supplemental note 7) The packet transmission apparatus according to anyone of Supplemental notes 1 to 3, being provided with a plurality ofmodes including at least a portion or all of the following three modes:

a first mode in which a rate at which the packet extraction meansperforms the packet extraction is determined on the basis of a band of anetwork link with a network that is connected to the packet transmissionapparatus;

a second mode in which the rate at which the packet extraction meansperforms the packet extraction is determined on the basis of either atotal of transmission rates each of which is set for each destinationconnected to the packet transmission apparatus by way of the network orthe band of the network link with the network that is connected to thepacket transmission apparatus, whichever is the slower rate; and

a third mode in which the packet extraction means, even when a pluralityof packets addressed to an identical destination are accumulated, doesnot perform the extraction unless a predetermined condition is met thatis defined on the basis of a transmission rate that is set for eachdestination connected to the packet transmission apparatus by way of thenetwork,

the packet transmission apparatus operating by selecting any one mode ofthe provided modes.

(Supplemental note 8) The packet transmission apparatus according to anyone of Supplemental notes 1 to 6, wherein

packets addressed to an identical destination that the packet extractionmeans extracts at a time from the buffer are any of all packetsaccumulated in the buffer, packets in such a number that a total size ofthe packets to be extracted does not surpass a maximum packet sizeallowable for a data portion in a packet transmitted on a networkconnected to the packet transmission apparatus, packets in such a numberthat a total size of the packets to be extracted does not surpass apredetermined upper limit of a total size of packets, and packets insuch a number that the total number of the packets to be extracted doesnot surpass a predetermined upper limit of the total number of packets.

(Supplemental note 9)

A packet transmission system including a plurality of packettransmission apparatuses, each of the packet transmission apparatusesincluding:

a packet extraction means for, when a plurality of packets addressed toan identical destination are accumulated in a buffer configured to sortand accumulate packets in accordance with each destination, extractingthe plurality of packets all at a time,

wherein the extraction is performed to encapsulate the packets extractedat a time into a single packet with respect to each destination andthereafter transmit the encapsulated packet to the destination.

(Supplemental note 10) A transmission method performed by a packettransmission apparatus, a packet transmission apparatus including:

a packet extraction step for, when a plurality of packets addressed toan identical destination are accumulated in a buffer configured to sortand accumulate packets in accordance with each destination, extractingthe plurality of packets all at a time,

wherein the extraction is performed to encapsulate the packets extractedat a time into a single packet with respect to each destination andthereafter transmit the encapsulated packet to the destination.

(Supplemental note 11) A packet transmission system, including:

a buffer means for sorting and accumulating packets in accordance witheach destination;

a packet extraction means for searching packets accumulated in thebuffer means with respect to each destination and extracting packets;

an encapsulation means for encapsulating one or a plurality of packetsextracted by the packet extraction means into a single packet; and

a transmission means for transmitting the encapsulated packet to anetwork,

wherein the packet extraction means extracts a plurality of searchedpackets addressed to an identical destination all at a time.

(Supplemental note 12) The packet transmission system according toSupplemental note 11, wherein

a method in which the packet extraction means searches packetsaccumulated in the buffer means with respect to each destination is acyclic check of respective destinations in a round-robin fashion.

(Supplemental note 13) The packet transmission system according toSupplemental note 12, further including:

a first setting means for setting a rate at which the packet extractionmeans extracts packets in a round-robin fashion to a band of a networklink by which the transmission means is connected to the network.

(Supplemental note 14) The packet transmission system according toSupplemental note 12, further including:

a second setting means for setting a rate at which the packet extractionmeans extracts packets in a round-robin fashion to either a total valueof transmission rates each of which the transmission means has set foreach destination connected to the network or a band of a network link bywhich the transmission means is connected to the network, whichever isthe smaller.

(Supplemental note 15) The packet transmission system according toSupplemental note 12, further including:

a third setting means for setting an extraction rate at which the packetextraction means extracts packets addressed to each destination in around-robin fashion so that each extraction rate coincides with atransmission rate that the transmission means has set for eachdestination connected to the network,

wherein the packet extraction means further includes a credit buffermeans for storing, as credits, a total size of a plurality of packetsthat can be extracted with respect to each destination.

(Supplemental note 16) The packet transmission system according to anyone of Supplemental notes 13 to 15, wherein

packets addressed to an identical destination that the packet extractionmeans extracts from the buffer means at a time are all packetsaccumulated in the buffer means, packets in such a number that a totalsize of packets to be extracted does not surpass a maximum packet sizeallowable for a network, or packets in such a number that a total sizeof or the total number of the packets does not surpass a predeterminedtotal size of or the predetermined total number of packets.

(Supplemental note 17) A packet transmission method, including making:

a buffer means sort and accumulate packets in accordance with eachdestination;

a packet extraction means search packets accumulated in the buffer meanswith respect to each destination and extract a plurality of searchedpackets addressed to an identical destination all at a time;

an encapsulation means encapsulate one or a plurality of packetsextracted by the packet extraction means into a single packet; and

a transmission means transmit, to a network, a packet encapsulated bythe encapsulation means.

(Supplemental note 18) The packet transmission method according toSupplemental note 17, wherein

a method in which the packet extraction means is made to search packetsaccumulated in the buffer means with respect to each destination is acyclic check of respective destinations in a round-robin fashion.

(Supplemental note 19) The packet transmission method according toSupplemental note 18, wherein:

a rate at which the packet extraction means is made to extract packetsin a round-robin fashion is set to a band of a network link by which thetransmission means is connected to the network.

(Supplemental note 20) The packet transmission method according toSupplemental note 18, wherein:

a rate at which the packet extraction means is made to extract packetsin a round-robin fashion is set to either a total value of transmissionrates each of which the transmission means has set for each destinationconnected to the network or a band of a network link by which thetransmission means is connected to the network, whichever is thesmaller.

(Supplemental note 21) The packet transmission method according toSupplemental note 18, wherein

a rate at which the packet extraction means is made to extract packetsaddressed to each destination in a round-robin fashion is set so as tocoincide with a transmission rate that the transmission means has setfor each destination connected to the network, and

the packet extraction means is made to manage, as credits, a total sizeof packets that can be extracted with respect to each destination.

(Supplemental note 22) The packet transmission method according to anyone of Supplemental notes 19 to 21, wherein

packets addressed to an identical destination that the packet extractionmeans is made to extract from the buffer means at a time are all packetsaccumulated in the buffer means, packets in such a number that a totalsize of packets to be extracted does not surpass a maximum packet sizeallowable for a network, or packets in such a number that a total sizeof or the total number of the packets does not surpass a predeterminedtotal size of or the predetermined total number of packets.

The present invention was described above through exemplary embodimentsthereof, but the present invention is not limited to the above exemplaryembodiments. Various modifications that could be understood by a personskilled in the art may be applied to the configurations and details ofthe present invention within the scope of the present invention.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2014-021370 filed on Feb. 6, 2014, theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is suitable for use in transmitting packets in awideband manner between nodes communicating with each other via anetwork. The present invention is also suitable for use in transmittingI/O packets in a wideband manner in a bus system that connects computersand I/O devices using a network.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   110 first packet output node-   120 first packet integration device-   121 packet integration queue-   121-1 internal queue-   122 packet extraction unit-   122-1 flow-by-flow credit buffer-   122-2 credit recalculation timer-   123 rate setting unit-   123-A physical link band mode-   123-B congestion control band mode-   123-C individual flow band mode-   124 packet encapsulation unit-   125 encapsulation table-   126 retransmission congestion control unit-   127 packet decapsulation unit-   210 second packet output node-   220 second packet integration device-   310 third packet output node-   320 third packet integration device-   400 network-   500 first network node-   510 packet output application-   520 packet integration queue-   530 packet integration unit-   531 timer-   540 memory-   541 minimum integration number-   542 timeout value-   550 packet receiving unit

What is claimed is: 1-11. (canceled)
 12. A packet transmissionapparatus, comprising: a packet extraction unit, from a buffer in whichpackets are sorted and accumulated in accordance with each destination,configured to search for packets with respect to each destination toextract the packets and, when a plurality of packets addressed to anidentical destination are accumulated, to extract the plurality ofpackets from the buffer; and an encapsulation unit configured toencapsulate packets extracted by the packet extraction unit into asingle packet with respect to each destination.
 13. The packettransmission apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: thebuffer configured to sort and accumulate the packets in accordance witheach destination; and a transmission unit configured to transmit theencapsulated packet to the destination by way of a network.
 14. Thepacket transmission apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the packetextraction unit, in a round-robin fashion with respect to eachdestination, searches for and extracts packets that are sorted andaccumulated in accordance with each destination.
 15. The packettransmission apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: therate setting unit which determines a rate at which the packet extractionunit performs the packet extraction based on a transmission rate that isset for each destination connected to the packet transmission apparatusby way of a network.
 16. The packet transmission apparatus according toclaim 15, wherein the rate setting unit determines the rate at which thepacket extraction unit performs the packet extraction based on a band ofa network connected to the packet transmission apparatus.
 17. The packettransmission apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the rate settingunit determines a rate at which the packet extraction unit performs thepacket extraction based on either a total of transmission rates each ofwhich is set for each destination connected to the packet transmissionapparatus by way of a network or a band of the network connected to thepacket transmission apparatus, whichever is the slower rate.
 18. Thepacket transmission apparatus according to claim 12, comprising aplurality of modes including at least one of the following three modes:a first mode in which a rate at which the packet extraction unitperforms the packet extraction is determined based on a band of anetwork connected to the packet transmission apparatus; a second mode inwhich the rate at which the packet extraction unit performs the packetextraction is determined based on either a total of transmission rateseach of which is set for each destination connected to the packettransmission apparatus by way of a network or the band of the networkconnected to the packet transmission apparatus, whichever is the slowerrate; and a third mode in which the rate at which the packet extractionunit performs the packet extraction is determined based on atransmission rate that is set for each destination connected to thepacket transmission apparatus by way of the network, wherein the packetextraction unit performs the packet extraction in any of the modes. 19.The packet transmission apparatus according to claim 12, wherein thepacket extraction unit extracts, from the buffer, all packets addressedto an identical destination accumulated in the buffer, packets addressedto an identical destination in such a number that a total size of thepackets to be extracted does not surpass a packet size allowed by anetwork, or packets addressed to an identical destination in such anumber that a total size of or the total number of the packets does notsurpass a predetermined total size of or the predetermined total numberof packets.
 20. A packet transmission system, comprising a plurality ofpacket transmission apparatuses according to claim 12, that areinterconnected by way of a network and transmit and receive packets withone another by way of the network.
 21. A packet transmission method,comprising: from a buffer in which packets are sorted and accumulated inaccordance with each destination, searching for packets with respect toeach destination to extract the packets and, when a plurality of packetsaddressed to an identical destination are accumulated, extracting theplurality of packets from the buffer; and encapsulating extractedpackets into a single packet with respect to each destination.
 22. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a packettransmission program that causes a computer to execute: a process that,from a buffer in which packets are sorted and accumulated in accordancewith each destination, searches for packets with respect to eachdestination to extract the packets and, when a plurality of packetsaddressed to an identical destination are accumulated, extracting theplurality of packets from the buffer; and a process that encapsulatesextracted packets into a single packet with respect to each destination.